


This is how the world ends

by TheJollyPiplup



Category: Pokemon
Genre: F/M, Geekchicshipping - Freeform, Might be spoopy, Shauna's here too, apocalypse au, but probably not cause I suck, read and review
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-20 17:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10667493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJollyPiplup/pseuds/TheJollyPiplup
Summary: When Lumiose City was attacked, Serena didn't know what to expect. Everyone in Kalos was either turned into blood thirsty Pokemon-Human hybrids, or killed by said monsters. With all of her friends either dead, changed, missing, its up to her to survive the in what remains of Kalos. (Will contain eventual Geekchicshipping) Now on FF.net





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm finally on Ao3! Let's see how this goes, shall we!

Today could have gone better. Heck, it wasn't awful, but seeing as Ash Ketchum lost what seemed to be the the best championship match of his entire career, it wasn't great. 

After the match was finished and Alan was declared the Official Champion of Kalos, Head of the Kalos League, Superior Trainer Over All in the Region, and other official stuff that everyone was too disappointed to pay attention to, Serena decided that we should all go out and do something in Lumiose to help us forget the day's troubles. Although she had a movie and a nice dinner in mind for the four of us to enjoy, it was Bonnie who decided that we all go to Silly Spinda’s Pizza Parlor. Since Ash was ok with that choice and Bonnie tends to throw a fit when we say no to anything she suggests, Serena and Clemont reluctantly agreed. 

After we got a table, Clemont and Bonnie went out to play some games. Serena decided to use this opportunity to talk to Ash about the match.  
“Hey, Ash, you feeling any better?”

He paused from eating his pizza to answer her question. “Funny, no matter how much I try, I just can't seem to drown my sorrows in this greasy pizza.”

At that point, she couldn't help but giggling. “Dang, then his truly is an important issue - you always forget your problems when you eat, along with everything else!”

They both broke out in laughter at that remark, nearly flipping over the table as they doubled over. However, Ash’s face soon went back to being solemn, remembering the match.  
“Honestly, Ash,” she spoke as we fixed the table, “is everything ok?”

He leaned back against the booth we were sitting in and sighed. “I just can't believe that I could have lost. I thought that my experience from Kalos would have made me a better trainer, one good enough to be champion.” He leaned forward to face me better, “I guess I was wrong.”

Serena was frustrated at Ash for being so sad yet so ignorant at the same time. “Ash Ketchum, you have grown so much as a trainer since I met you at the beginning of our journey. I even think I grew a little just by being here with you. If it weren't for you, I may not even be as strong as a performer as I am now. I'm so glad that I met you.” 

A little bit startled, Ash sat up straight in his seat, trying to come up with a reply. He looked around in astonishment, even blushing a little over her speech. “Wow… I didn't really think about it that much. You guys really are one of the best parts of this adventure, and I don't know what I would be without you. Thanks, Serena, for making me feel better.” 

She was still beaming as Clemont and Bonnie sat back down, Bonnie holding a stuffed buneary in her arms. “Hey Serena!” Clemont said as they both sat down, “What have you been up to?”

“Just giving our champion a little pep-talk, how about you?” 

Before he could reply, Bonnie shoved her stuffed Pokémon into Serena’s face “Look at this! Clemont won me this bad boy, and I'm so happy!! I'm going to name him Dave, and I shall treat him like a king!! So, we're y'all kissing or something?”

Serena began to break out in laughter, while Ash mimicked a gagging noise. Clemont however, was not impressed - he immediately went red from embarrassment and began to take Bonnie away from their seat to scold her. 

Serena began to calm down, while confused at the same time - for a small harmless joke like this, Clemont sure seemed to be taking it seriously. Taking her mind off the topic, she turned to ask Ash about his plans now that the league was over. 

“Well, I was planning on heading home to Kanto, but I think I can hold that off for a month to spend here!”

She was overjoyed - they all got to stay together for an extra month! “Since we had to go here today, do you want us all to go to the movies tomorrow? I hear there's this really good smoothie place right by it, and I've read about this nice comedy movie…”

“Relax Serena!” Clemont had been coming back over to the table with a red-faced Bonnie next to him. “I think we’d all like that!”

Feeling a lot better than he had before, Ash wakes out of the restaurant alongside his best friends. The next month would be perfect - he almost wished he could stay forever!

…

 

Today had been an awful day. Definitely awful, given that humanity’s last hope for redemption has just escaped from Lysandre’s care

He was furious when he received word of Zygarde's escape. Even worse, the Team Flare grunts in charge of watching it apparently had “no idea” how it escaped - one minute it was located in its pokeball, the next it had left without a trace. Of course, everyone in charge of its containment was fired immediately. 

“Tell me, Xerosic,” Lysandre was extremely furious at the scientist watching over the development of their ultimate plan, “do I look happy to hear about your failure to watch over a single Pokémon?!”

“N-No sir!” Xerosic replied, afraid of the potential punishments he may endure because of his actions. After all, when you work with an illegal business, no one cares about the normal employee safety laws. Knowing that at the very least he will probably lose his job because of this, Xerosic quickly made an offer. “I'll find the Zygarde and bring it back to you!! I swear on my job!!” 

“There's no time for that, Xerosic - it took us months to find it originally, there no way we can get it now! You’ll have to come up with another method of carrying out our plan by our original deadline - the time right after a championship is the best time for our attack, and I don't want to settle for anything less than ideal.” 

“That's impossible, Sir! We can't create another weapon that quickly - no one on earth would have access to those resources!”

“Maybe not everyone.”

Both of the men looked to the entrance of Lysandre’s office to see a woman appear in the doorway. She had dark skin, and was wearing a dark blue blazer dress with black heels. Her black hair was pulled up into a bun, shielded by a large sun hat on her head. 

“And might I ask who you are?” As one might expect, Lysandre doesn't usually appreciate strangers barging into his secret criminal hideout - at this point, this woman should be killed immediately. However, he was interested with her case, so he let her continue. 

“At this point in time, my full name is unimportant, however you can call me Madam B, head of DexyTech 7. What is important is that I understand that you are in a bit of a crisis regarding your plan of humanity’s rebirth. I have similar ideas regarding the fall of this nation, as well as the means to do so. But in order for our plans to be fully enacted, me and my team must have access to more resources - this is where Team Flare comes in. If we were to work together, our overall mission of a more successful humanity would be done not in the next month, not even in the next week, but even by tomorrow afternoon we could have a reformation of society in action, with the two of us as its rulers. Now, will you take my offer?”

It seemed too perfect for Lysandre to believe, extremely too perfect. “No sane person would make this kind of offer without expecting payment in return, so what do you desire from me, Madam?”

B smiled at Lysandre and answered his question. “Eventually, I will require some form of reimbursement in the future, however those terms can be discussed at a later date.”

This entire plan was extremely risky, with a lot of important loopholes in the offer - it was suicide to agree to this plan. However, He didn't have a choice in the matter - either he agreed to this plan or risk the loss of everything he had been working for, the loss of an entire perfect future for Team Flare. He had no choice. Within an hour, technicians from DexyTech 7 were beginning to produce the future hope for salvation: a clear chemical that would destroy civilization as they knew it


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a bonding moment, everything starts to fall apart.

The next morning…

Everyone had woken up early to prepare for the fun activities throughout the day. Although all 4 of the kids had been offered to stay the night over at the Limone house, they preferred to sleep in a nearby Pokémon Center. Serena was busy fixing her hair in the girls bathroom alongside a tired Bonnie, while both of the guys were getting dressed. 

“Serena, what kind of sane person wakes up at 8:00 in the morning?” While Bonnie was usually eager to have fun, she did not enjoy it when fun conflicted with her sleep. 

“The only showing of Lasses Day Out is at 9:15, and since we need 30 minutes to get ready and another 30 to walk to the cinema, we would need to get ready an hour beforehand.”

Following a moan from Bonnie, Serena though it would be a good idea to bring up the shopping district right beside the theater, where she could shop for an hour unsupervised so long as she kept her phone on her (in reality, luxray would be keeping an eye on her to make sure she stayed out of trouble.) Everyone else would be shopping as well, picking out nice outfits to wear during their possibly last month together. After the hour was up, all 4 of them were to meet up at a new smoothie shop called Galaxy Berries, where they would discuss their plans for the rest of the day. 

After they all had finished getting ready, it was off to the movies! Given that it was a chick flick, Serena and Bonnie seemed to enjoy the film the most, though Clemont was able to find it entertaining also. Once the movie was over, each person went their separate ways to begin shopping. However, after she had been out for only 10 minutes, Serena received a message on her pokedex. 

“Can u meet me @ my place w/ a few things? (List is down below) I'll pay u back. - Clem” 

Wondering what on earth he needed more supplies for, Serena ran out and picked up the items from a nearby hardware store, and headed over to the Lumiose Tower, the Gym/Apartment complex where the Limones lived. Thankfully, it was close by, and within 5 minutes she was walking inside the residential entrance to see a red-faced Clemont standing near the door to the basement, embarrassed and waiting with some cash in his hand. When he saw Serena, he seemed to relax a bit and walked up towards her. 

Noticing the tension in the teen, she tried to lighten up the situation. “Hey Clem, what's got you spooked? Did Clembot threaten you with a screwdriver down there or something?” 

Hearing this, he began to smile, and swapped the bag of mechanical parts for the cash. “No, but I'm pretty sure something is wrong with his language settings - for the entire day, he's been speaking nothing but kalosian! Thankfully, most of the natives speak it, but it's been a pain to any foreign visitors.” 

“God, that must've been a pain,” Serena replied, before realizing something. “Wait, does that mean you speak kalosian?”

Clemont looked at her with a confused expression “You can't? I thought I heard you say you learned before moving here.”

“Yeah, but only basic phrases like hello and thank you…” she admitted 

From the basement downstairs, the broken robot could be heard muttering gibberish phrases. Serena could pick up on a few phrases, such as “hello, how are you?” and “where is the nearest Pokécenter?”

Slightly annoyed, Clemont opened the door and shouted at the broken machine. “Pouvez-vous vous taire!” 

Grinning, Serena looked at Clemont as he shut the door. “Cool - didn't know you were bilingual.” Wrapping her arms around his waist, she began to joke with him. “I love it when you talk that sexy kalosian to me, Clem.”

He, however didn't see it as playful banter, and immediately became flustered, trying to laugh it off once he realized she was joking. Seeing her mistake, Serena quickly apologized and let go. Strangely, though, Clemont didn't let her go immediately, only releasing her when she pulled away. She said goodbye and made her way out of the building. Before she made it out, she swore she could hear him say “Je t'aime tellement, Serena…”

Note to self, she thought: learn more kalosian. 

Once she left, Serena went to shop for the last 15 minutes before lunch, where she was able to buy a pair of sneakers and a nice big backpack. Once she arrived at the smoothie shop, Serena was able to find a table with everyone else, where Ash was just showing his new pokeballs. 

A waitress came around the table with 4 smoothies on a tray, 2 with red lids and 2 with blue. “Care for a smoothie? In order to promote business, we're giving away a free drink to anyone we can find!”

“Wow, thanks!” Bonnie was happy about the idea of free drinks, and as soon as she the tray was on the table she grabbed a cup with a red lid. She picked up the second red one and handed it to Clemont. “So we can match!” She explained right before she started drinking. 

“Your giving these out to everyone?” Ash was a bit curious about this promotion. 

“Yep! And it's been a success! I would venture to say that nearly everyone in Kalos has enjoyed one of our drinks, and they agree that it tastes fantastic!”

“Works for me!” said Ash as he began to enjoy a blue cup. Laughing, Serena and Clemont both started drinking their respective drinks until all 4 were empty, everyone felt great, and all was good. 

Except it wasn't. 

Minutes after the smoothies had been drunken, Bonnie began to complain about a stomach ache. “I think I had a bad reaction to whatever what's in that drink.” 

Clemont was also beginning to look a bit pale, though he stayed silent. Oddly enough, most of the customers also had an unpleasant reaction to the smoothies, though a few seemed to be fine, including Ash and Serena. However, this moment of curiosity didn't last long, because one man had collapsed onto the floor, gripping his stomach as a noise escaped his mouth. 

He was screaming.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang is torn during a bit of a riot.

Within seconds, the entire building was in chaos. 

Everyone seemed to be either running out of the restaurant or doubled over in a booth, crying, screaming, or both. This included both Clemont and Bonnie - the eldest trying to keep calm through endless waves of agony coursing through his abdomen and the youngest frozen in her seat, anticipating the moment that her nausea would turn into agony. Serena and Ash were quick to get out of their seats and help the other two outside. 

When they were finally out of the building, they all found it to be just as bad as in the restaurant. No, Serena thought, this is even worse. People and Pokémon alike seemed to be rushing in an array of directions, not caring where they were going so long as it was away from those who screamed. Finally unable to continue further, Clemont collapsed on a nearby park bench. 

“Oh dear god, Clemont!” Ash was quick to try and support his weight until they could get away from the chaotic streets of Lumose, but was caught off guard when he was pushed away by Clemont. 

“No… you guys…,” He fumbled with getting a white plastic keycard out of his pocket, shoving it into Serena’s chest. “Bonnie, H-Help Serena and Ash get home… you three should be safe there.”

“But what about you?!” Bonnie wanted to bring her brother home with them, but him barely being able to stand up, even when leaning on the bench, showed that he was in no shape to follow them. He looked up at her and managed to form a smile in an attempt to be reassuring. “I'll be ok, I promise.” 

While Bonnie looked a little more calm, Ash still wasn't convinced. “Clemont, bud, I think that we should really…” before he could respond Clemont had doubled over on the bench in another wave of pain. Just as quickly as he had fell, he had reached over towards Ash, grabbing his arm in a death grip as he spoke to him. “Ash… this isn't a discussion. I told … you … to go, so go!”

Ash quickly wrestled his arm away from Clemont, who was huddled on the bench, crying in agony.   
He looked at the place Clemont grabbed him. It was bleeding, sharp nails driven into his skin. 

The other three started running towards the massive tower looming in the distance, blocked by thousands of people. The older two were quick to draw out Braxen and Greninja to help clear the path as well as serve as protection. Serena tried to look back at Clemont, but it was pointless - the pain had been so great, he had fallen unconscious. 

………   
The adolescents were weaving throughout the crowd, trying their best to stick together. Though as they passed the crowds of people holding themselves in agony, along with those screaming in pain and terror, they heard the shouts become more loud and horrific. As they wove their way through the streets, the reason became frighteningly clear. 

The sick were waking up on the streets, only to have become monsters. Hungry, horrifying monsters. 

A woman was standing up after regaining consciousness, only to have her once black hair turn red, forming a crown of hair on the front of her head. Her fingers had grown claws on the end, white hairs coating her hand. Throughout her arms, neck, and legs, a dark gray fur had appeared. And though her face remained the same, her eyes had turned pitch black, as a fierce hunger overtook her body, shown by just how fast she charged at the kids. 

Ash stepped forward and released Talonflame while staring at the Weavile-woman in terror. “I'll hold her off,” he looked straight at Serena and Bonnie, hoping that his fear didn't show, “You two go to the tower!” 

This time, no one argued as Serena, Bonnie, and Braxien wove through the crowd, Bonnie growing sicker and sicker by the minute. They were getting closer towards the tower - another few minutes and they would reach it. All around them, monsters of different sizes and shapes attacked civilians or Pokémon - Serena swore she saw a few of them eating a raw Flechling

Finally, Bonnie bucked over in pain as she felt the illness take hold, screaming as she went down. Serena quickly picked her up and kept running, until the weight of both of them forced her to take a break with her Pokémon keeping watch. They held out in a clothing store, its front window broken open.

“Serena… it hurts… so bad,” Bonnie moaned while clinging onto the blonde. “I know, sweetheart, just breathe.” Serena spoke, hoping that it would calm her down. As Serena looked around the store, she chuckled. “And here i thought my biggest problem today would be deciding which shirt i should buy.” 

This got Bonnie laughing, to Serena’s relief, but it soon was replaced with sorrow. “You know, this isn’t the worst day to die - at least i got to spend it with you guys” 

“Bonnie, don't say that. We are not going to die.”

“I know, but i think becoming a flesh devouring monster is…” Bonnie paused in her sentence. “We shouldn't have left Clemont.”

A sharp pang in her chest reminds her that their friend has probably succumbed to the effects of the disease - destroying all in his path with no recollection for his past life. He didn't deserve this. He didn’t deserve to lose himself. Bonnie looks up to Serena with sad eyes. “Can you promise to not leave me, even when i go - can you try to find a way to save me?”

“Shh, don't worry Bonnie, i'll stay beside you no matter what.” But should she? If whatever was in those smoothies cause people to change like that, would it be worth it to stick around someone so lethal. No, though Serena, that's awful - I shouldn't have even considered it an option! 

But as he started to pick up Bonnie, another mutant boy appeared - this time in the shape of a Persian. Serena began to call Braxien to fight, but he suddenly delivered a swift attack towards Serena, knocking her out immediately. The last thing she saw was Bonnie passing out on the floor, Braxien attacking the monster, alongside another trainer fighting with her Venusaur beside her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena finds a friend and gathers her bearings. (Kinda short)

When she awoke, The first thing Serena noticed was the bright daylight streaming from a group of trees overtop of her. That, along with her massive headache and smell of cooking meat told her 3 things:

She had been moved outdoors to some forest outside of the city, by someone who was still normal - given that she was not dead.   
She was knocked out by something back at the Lumiose Shopping District, meaning that she could have been out for a long time - maybe for a few days.   
That someone from number one is currently here with her - and her name is Shauna. 

Looking up from a cooking piece of meat, Shauna walked over to a now conscious Serena, who was quickly checking her pocket for her precious pokéballs. Once she was assured that her partners were safe, she was greeted with a hug from the brunette. 

“Arceus, I thought that freak had put you in a coma or something, Serena!” she exclaimed. “ I thought you were fine at first, but by day two, I was starting to get worried!” 

Serena struggled to respond to Shauna, instead examining the area around their campsite. It consisted of only two sleeping bags and a firepit, with some unknown Pokémon roasting inside. The only other presence in the area beside the girls was a very large Venusaur, acting as a guard for their safety. 

But after a few seconds, all of the questions she had were suddenly released onto her savior. “Wait, day two?! How long was I out, Shauna? How did you get me all the way out here - where even IS here?!”

But at that moment, her most important question was finally realized. “Shauna, where's Bonnie?” She had been crying and shaking the last time Serena had seen her. Surely, Shauna had gotten her - the poor child would have died otherwise! “You got Bonnie, didn't you?” 

Instantly, Shauna’s joyful grin fell into a strained, disappointed look that made her appear much older. “Serena, I… uh…” Sighing, she sat by the blonde, thinking over her next words. “First off, you’ve only been asleep for about two days - I was talking about this morning earlier. That one freak messed both you and Venusaur up pretty bad, and given that most Pokécenters are probably both out of any electricity and are crawling with those freaks, I thought our best chances were away from civilization. We're a little off Route 14, and even though we're away from most modern society, it's only by a 10 minute walk - didn't want to get too far away from our main source of supplies.”

Looking around at all of their gear, as well as at two large backpacks she didn't notice before, it can easily be implied that a good deal of their stuff was stolen. “Yes, but that still doesn't explain why Bonnie isn't here.”

Serena was already starting to remember the past few days events, and knew that it was highly unlikely that she was ever going to see Bonnie again. Still she had to know that the poor kid was alive and not some freaks next victim. 

“Serena, I… I'm sorry, but it was already too late for her. She was already gone by the time I was able to save you.”

Serena was still in denial, balling her hands in her fists and listening to the embers pop in the fire. “No, she's gotta be alive! I… I promised that she… she…”

All of the emotions she had been holding back suddenly let loose as she began to sob on Shauna’s shoulders, not caring how pathetic it looked. “Dear Arceus, Shauna, everyone I know is dead! I feel so freaking alone! Hell, it seemed that everyone in Kalos has either been killed, or is going to kill someone!” Before she could continue stammering, Serena felt a pair of arms embrace her, bringing her face towards Shauna’s shoulder.

What she was saying was probably true - it was extremely likely that the three of them were dead in the time period that she had left them. As much as she tried to stop it, Serena suddenly found herself imagining all the ways her friends could have died, all while battling waves of tears as she sobbed on Shauna. 

Ash would never have gone without a fight. While he could have been unlucky in the battle with the Freak, it's more likely that he lived past then, only to be killed by another more powerful than he, or by an unlucky event such as a wild Pokémon gone crazy, or a natural event. Bonnie would go first - given that she was at such a weak spot when she was abandoned, she could have either been killed by a freak, or finished her own… changing? (Serena was still unsure what she should call it) At least she was certain what happened to Clemont - somewhere in that city, what was once a kind soul was now a flesh eating monster. 

Slowly, even with her more recent morbid thoughts, Serena was able to stop the tears and pull herself away from her friend. “Sorry about that, I just got worried about all of…” Serena leaned up and made a sweeping gesture with her hands. “All of this crap we’re dealing with. On Saturday, the biggest problem i had was finding what dress I was going to wear. Now, I'm thinking about how we may be the last people alive in the country!”

Pulling her closer, Shauna hugged Serena, whispering to her as she tried to calm her down. “I know, Serena, it sucks.” “Everything sucks, Serena” and “I cried like this my first night, too.” were all semi - comforting phrases that she used to soothe Serena. The last one, though, caught Serena’s attention. 

“If you're upset, then how come you're not crying?”

“Oh Serena,” she looked down at the girl, still holding her in her arms, “at this point, I’m tired of crying.”

…………………..

After a day of rest and relaxation, (all she got besides rest was a cooked leg of some unidentifiable Pokémon, but it was still good,) Shauna deemed Serena worthy of following her to gather supplies from the broken streets of Lumiose. These kind of trips usually involved the girls walking through Route 14 back to what used to be Lumiose City and find anything that can be of use, such as clothes, camping gear, and some of the Pokémon casualties from the First Day. Upon hearing this, Serena immediately wanted out of the trip. 

“Serena, I think it's time we had a talk about what MilBurgers are made from,” joked Shauna. 

“Shaunaaa, I know, but why can't we take some pre-made food from an old grocery or something that's you know…. Not murdered on the side of the road?” Serena was mortified at the thought of returning to the horror land they left behind. All of the chaos and bloodshed was enough to send her shivers right then and there. 

“Sorry - I already tried, but everything was either already looted or spoiled due to the fact that no place in Kalos has any electricity. So if we don't do this, we will you know… starve.” Patting her already growling stomach, Shauna proved her point. “Food has to come from somewhere, Serena.” 

Hearing this made Serena gain a newfound recognition of just how hungry she was, making her upset. “Arceus, I hate it when you're right Shauna! Ok, I'll come with you, but should I bring Braxen just in case we run into any of those… things?”

“I've never seen any when I went out,” Shauna shrugged, “but we should probably take her just in case we do find those… what should we call those things? ‘Things’ and ‘Freaks’ sound off, since they're still human-ish, but everything else that i've thought of sounds dumb.” 

“What, like ‘morphs?’ ‘Fusions?’ ‘Specials?’” Hearing these names aloud made both Shauna and Serena to laugh. 

“Well, at this point, we should just call them random objects like ‘Chair’ and ‘Table!’ Heck, maybe even something like ‘Smoothies!’”

“Wait, that could actually work,” Serena said, still laughing as she searched for Braxen’s Pokéball. As she finally found it, she continued her explanation. “This entire freaking mess was caused by some dumb smoothie company, so why not call them that!” 

“I like it, Serena,” Shauna agreed, “Smoothies have a nice ring to it!” Both girls started laughing at the ridiculous statement, both knowing that the name won't stick. Grabbing an empty backpack, the girls began to make their way towards the ruins of the city. As they walked, Serena silently prayed that what she was about to see wasn't as bad as what she was currently envisioning. Because if what she thought was going to happen occurred, she doubted that she could last 5 minutes in Lumiose.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena gets in a fight

Well, at least there no dead people. That's what Serena kept telling herself as she walked through the barren streets, full of debris and broken windows, obvious signs of previous struggles and fights that had occurred in the past three days. Yes, there were corpses flung across the streets, but they were the corpses of flechlings and rattatas, as well as the occasional dedenne and pachirisu. Yet, even this felt better to Serena than seeing a corpse of a man or a woman, because she could easily look at the pokémon and pretend that they didn't have a family. You can pretend that they didn't have lives, or trainers that used to love them dearly. They were just bodies. They were no one. 

Unless you were Shauna, of course.If that was the case, then these pokémon were tonights dinner. 

Although she tried to keep looking at other things, Serena still looked at Shauna in near shock when she began to lift a dead flechling into a small, brown purse. It seemed that this was their main mission of the night - collecting anything valuable or edible. 

Luckily, it seemed that Shauna noticed her ever growing discomfort, because she went ahead and started talking. 

“Hey Serena! Can you and Braxien look inside that Pokécenter over there?” She raised her finger over towards a door with a slightly broken sign overhead, “I think it still might have some meds inside.”

“Ok!” She replied, ushering her Pokémon along towards the building. Ever since they had arrived, Braxen had been a nervous wreck. It made sense to Serena - all of these dead pokémon were fallen brethren to the poor fox. To it, all of these dead bodies were people, people who had suffered an unfortunate and horrific death. 

Once they were at the entrance, Serena began to pry the door open, only to find that the doors automatically slid open. “Well, Braxien, guess we still have power..” 

Suspicious of any potential residents, Serena made her way into the building and began to scope out the area. As expected, the overhead lights blinked to life, showing a trashed - and thankfully empty - pokecenter. Well, it looked empty at first, until you looked at the floor. 

Laying on the tiles at the bottom of the lobby was a half-eaten sawsbuck, looking to be in its summer form by the looks of its antlers. The only thing worse than the look of both the corpse and poor Braxien’s face was how recently some of the wounds looked. Most of the damage to the animal looked to be days old - it was probably killed on the first attack. But some of the ones on the edge looked like it was hacked away more recently. And by recently, she meant that they looked like they could have been made that morning. 

In other words, they may have a killer in the center. Serena suddenly wished she had a knife. 

The duo quickly went behind the counter, searching for anything that could be of use in their survival. After checking both the main dash and the store booth, a good deal of canned food was found stashed on a shelf along with some medicine. However, Serena was more focused on a stockpile of survival gear stashed on one of the shelves. Flashlights and hunting knives littered the shelf, obviously not placed there by any employee. This confirmed Serena’s suspicions. Whoever their guest is must have the ability to use weapons and survival gear to a basic humane amount. Their guest was one of those freaks. Or slushes, as the girls had called them earlier. 

She grabbed as much gear as she could fit into the backpack as she could, while Braxien stood watch. She was about halfway through before the two heard a noise in the hallway by the desk, leading towards the rooms. Getting up, they made their way down the hall to check out what was down there. Serena wasn't sure why, but a small part of her hoped to be wrong. It hoped to walk down that hallway and see a survivor in need of help, someone who could be an ally. Heck, it even hoped that she saw Ash, trying to live here with Pikachu in hope of rescue. 

Instead, that hope shriveled up and died when it saw a woman break down the door, covered in jagged red fur and appendages that suggested she was a vulpix. Whatever she was, she started running down the hall, forming a ball of flame in her hands as Serena readied both Braxien and her new weapon. 

“Braxien, Psychic!” Serena commanded as she stepped behind her pokémon’s blast radius. Bright purple lights shone out from the foxe’s outstrached stick. Instantly, the lights hit the slushe - freak, slushe didn't really seem that appropriate now - and caused her to faulter, but not before she could throw a flame burst towards them, hitting Braxien and slightly burning Serena. Not wasting a step, Serena charged at the freak and slashed at her arm, causing a cry of pain from the vulpix. However, it also pinned Serena down to the tile, knocking out her breath and causing her the get cut by the girls now-long claws. 

She now gripped Serena’s throat, appearing to be trying to choke her before ending it. Struggling to grab her knife, Serena could only look at the girls dirty face, which reeked of rotting meat. Before delivering a final blow, she opened her mouth, probably getting ready to screech an inhuman scream. However, none of them ever got the chance to find out. 

Both of them were suddenly hit with a magical leaf attack, knocking the freak off of Serena and sending them both on the floor. Right after that, a fire blast hit the girl head on, alongside a poison powder blast. Serena was able to quickly run out of the way of the powder. The freak, however, was not so lucky. 

Screeching from the poison, the vulpix suddenly ran back into the hallway and away from their attackers. Turning around, Serena was able to see Shauna, along with Venusaur and Braxien. Looking at her pokémon, Serena nodded and said “G-Good girl, Braxien.” 

Shauna, however, was examining the still present sawsbuck on the floor, as well as the now, scattered bag of knives. Looking at her companion, she walked over and began to pick up the loot. As she worked, she smiled at the blonde. “Great job, Serena. You found us weapons and this week's food.” 

Once they were done picking up the knives, Shauna began to tie a long pole to the animals hooves, looking at Serena and saying “Well, are you helping or not? I can't carry this back on my own.”

Grinning, Serena began to adjust the pole to the back legs. “Fine, but you're taking the front half of this thing - I've already seen enough dead pokémon for one night, and I don't plan on staring at a half-eaten face on the way home.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans for the future are made

Day 2

It was a miracle. Even without the great legendary Zygarde, his plain was being put into action - and succeeding. 

Lysandre looked at the screen of Lumiose City, watching it as chaos ran through the streets, even after a day had passed. Looking towards the other screens, he could see the hell that was raging along the entire region. But what caught the attention of his companion, however, was the screens full of people filling a long metal hallway - normal people, that is. 

Madam B was watching people running into the bunkers, ushered by the employees of Dexytech into the heart of the underground establishment, what she had repeatedly told Lysandre was the “Heart and Soul of this entire mission.” The entire plan was simple enough - anyone who was lucky enough to get a clean drink would naturally stick together with fellow humans, meaning that in the heart of the chaos, a large group of survivors would stick together, and could easily be ushered into safety. 

Six bunkers had been created earlier by the Dexy group, each fit to hold a large town inside of its walls. Survivors would be lead in, kept inside of the walls until the horrors of the smoothie gone wrong had passed; Something that would take a good 50-100 years to happen, at the least. While they were down there, the people were encouraged to take on a job in their new town, and finish out the rest of their lives, creating a place perfect enough to live in. 

Or, more importantly, have children. 

By the time the bunkers are released, little to none of the original survivors would be alive, just their children. These children, of course, would have been taught by their saviors, the Dexytech and Team Flare employees. They would have been taught the importance of perfection, and how anyone who was less than that must be removed from society. And at the end of that education, the children of Kalos would finally be the perfect people of Lysandre’s dreams. 

People of all sorts of backgrounds could be seen filling the doors, men women and children alike. Some people could even be seen dragging their pokémon alongside them, such as that one gym leader - Korrina, he thought her name was - running into the crowd with her lucario in hand. Admiring her creation, B walked over to Lysandre with a tray in her hands, two teacups present - a red one for Lysandre, and a white one for herself. 

Ushering to the table, both she and Lysandre sat down and enjoyed their tea. “It's amazing,” she said, “what one little drink could do to a person.”

Laughing a little, Lysandre agreed, saying “this entire idea was genius! In only one night, we have accomplished more for our cause than I ever could with Zygarde! And now, no one in this entire nation can even stop me!”

Chuckling a bit, Madam B took a sip of her cup. Noticing her laughter, Lysandre became curious. “What's so funny, my comrade?” 

Looking up, she set the tea down and began to clean up their drinks. “Lysandre, you do know that no man is immortal, right?” 

He looked at her, even more confused than before his question, until he began to notice that something was off. He felt a bit ill, almost queasy, during the entire tea session, but he shrugged t off as indigestion. Until now, when was once a slight belly ache now became a harsh, splintering pain in his abdomen. Clutching his stomach, he looked at Madam, staring right in the eyes of his murder. He could only stammer at her before collapsing, muttering “y-you…. what did-d you do-o….?”

Grinning, she picked up the tray and looked back. “Lysandre, there's only enough room in this mission for one leader.” 

She walked towards the door as he attempted to lunge at her. As he nearly met her, though, he was met with a large floating orb of scalding hot tea. Screaming, he crawled away from the ball of liquid. Without flinching, Madam B flicked her wrist slightly, ushering the tea into the pot. “I'm sorry about this, Lysandre. Maybe next time, I'll let you live.” 

Locking the curled up man in his office, B walked towards a newly - arranged office down the hall. Inside, one of her employees was waiting. Pressing a hidden button on her hat, her wardrobe shifted from her dress into a blue jumpsuit, fit with a weapons belt and a small insignia on her chest, alongside some badges. Her heels were turned into boots, and her hat shrunk into a wristband, fitting onto her when she picked it up off her head. “Canxilia,” she said to her partner, “can you take care of our humble guest? I don't wish for him to suffer any longer than necessary, so make it quick.”

As Canxilia walked away, B flicked her wrist, starting up her PortCom and began to make a call to HQ. Looking at her reflection in the hologram, she could see her now fully-blue eyes on the screen, as well as a slight raise in her face where her nose used to be. As the screen flicked to life, she could see Danion, the head of her division of the Colonization Department. “Captain Baylion, I trust your mission is actually going through this time?”

“Yes, Commander,” she replied, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. “The test run had played out in accordance to the ChemLabs expectations, and the National test has been launched one day ago.”

“Perfect, Baylon, we’ll send a fleet to check up on your operation. Said fleet should arrive within the next twelve months,” Danion replied. “I expect the Dexy and our transfer groups to be ready by that point.”

“They will, commander,” Baylon replied, “Nothing less for the Akala Empire.”

 

Day 3 - Night 

“Wow, Serena! You really are good with food!”

Serena smiled a bit when she heard the compliment. “Thanks Shauna, but I'm really better with pastries. Most of what I did here is what I've learned from Clemont.”

After the two had made it back to camp, Serena decided to handle tonight's dinner, while Shauna got the fire back up and burning. While she really didn't want to (REALLY didn't), Shauna was the only one who could start a good fire. Plus, the last few meals they had could have tasted a lot better. So with the additional natural herb or two, the meat from the sawsbuck tasted pretty nice. 

However, at the mention of her friends name, Serena gasped and reached for her pocket, where she still had the Limone’s keycard. “The key!” she exclaimed. 

Looking up from her meal, Shauna asked “what key?”

Serena explained to her friend the keycard, and more importantly, what could still be inside of his house. However, as she spoke of the potential shelter, she began to remember the events of the day, and started to feel bad about using their house. 

Shauna saw this reaction, and began to hold her friend’s hand. “Hey Serena, I know you guys were friends and all, but we really need this house…”

“I know Shauna. It's just…” she shuffled a little bit on the log they had been sitting on by their campfire. “I'm just worried that going in there will stir up some old memories, and… a-and…”

She began to tear up a little, causing her to rub her eyes. “No-o, I'm not going t-to cry again…” 

Shana began to hug her, carefully rubbing her head as Serena began to cry. Leaning down, she whispered to the blonde, “Serena, it wasn't your fault.. we both lost people we loved that day, and we can't do anything to change that” 

Lifting her head up, Shauna continued. “But, we can find other people like us, and do our best to move forward. Wouldn't they have wanted you to keep going?” 

Serena stopped crying and looked at the brunette, a smile in her face. “Y-You're right Shauna, we should go. We can't just stay here, hunting dead Flechlings for the rest of our lives. We need a place to live!”

Shauna grinned and began to set up their sleeping bags. “How about we leave tomorrow? We can take some gear with us, and come back for the rest of it later?”

Getting ready to go to bed, Serena agreed. “That sounds great, Shauna. We can go tomorrow.”

Both girls settled into their sleeping bags, and began to sleep the most peacefully they ever had since this mess ever started.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie wakes up

Day 2 - Early Morning

Everything feels dark. I can't see anything. I can't hear anything. All she could feel is the tight embrace of….. friend, and the ever reaching presence of the quiet darkness beyond. 

Friend is what she called him, because she couldn't tell who he was in the dark room they were sleeping in. All that she knew was his scent. He smelled kinda like lavender, and a little like vanilla. 

But beyond that, he smelled kind and gentle. Like someone she can trust. He smelled kinda fruity, like a lemony smell, just like Bonnie. They must be related. 

...Wait a second….

Finally opening her eyes, Bonnie tried to sit upright, only to be held down by this sleeping stranger. Looking down, she could see a pair of human-like arms wrapped around her, almost like he fell asleep hugging her. Human-like, she thinks, because from her position, she could see blue fur coating his arms, long claws on each finger and golden rings coating his wrists. She can also see, rolled all the way up towards his elbows, a pair of blue sleeves. 

Bonnie began to move the arms away from her in attempt to stand up, before feeling something move in her hair. No, not her hair - this felt like something else. Moving her own head a bit, Bonnie tried to stick her hand up her head before catching a glimpse of it, coated in a bright orange fur. Continuing to feel her head, she could feel a pair of ears on the sides of her head, feeling fuzzy to the touch. One of them, it seemed, was touching the side of her big brothers face. 

At this point, Bonnie decided that it was best if she found a mirror, and to do so without waking Clemont. Prying herself away from her napping brother, she could look around the room and tell that it was an abandoned Pokécenter. Hopping off of the counter she and her brother had been resting on, she could see that the room was filled with sleeping mutants, people altered by the smoothie’s effects. A few flechlings were scattered across the room, as well as a couple bunelbys. She could even see a pancham couple dosing by a wall, two women sharing a sleeping together. Stepping over a nearby vulpix, Bonnie walked towards the center of the room, until she stopped. 

There, in the center, was one of the most disgusting things she had ever seen. 

Then again, it's not every day someone finds a dead sawsbuck in the middle of a Pokécenter. A good portion of it had been eaten away, exposing some of the bones. But what horrified Bonnie the most, was herself. 

She was salivating at the dead pokémon, and could faintly hear her stomach growling. She smelt the corpse, and instead of smelling the stench of roadkill, she could smell something similar to the aroma of Miltank-Burgers. 

Quickly, she began to walk away from the meat, and began to find the restroom in the facility. Once she was in, the automatic lights flickered on. Thankfully, she thought, the restrooms were located away from the main lobby, so the light won't wake anyone up. Finding the sink, she leaned up on her toes and looked into the mirror. When she caught a glimpse of herself, she nearly gasped

On the sides of her head, she had two disk-like ears, both of them a dark brown with a creme colored inside. The edges of her face were tinted with a orange like fuzz, and her cheeks had a red tint to them. Her irises that were once a blue color was now black, giving them an unnatural appearance. Looking at her legs, she could see that the lower half of her calf, as well as her feet were orange as well. Looming behind her, Bonnie could see a thin black tail, something she didn't notice before. Making it wave around in the air a bit, she confirmed that she could control her tail, before sitting down on the floor. 

Laying her head back, Bonnie suddenly remembered the events of the past day. Or, she thought, what little she could remember. She remembered seeing her brother curled up on the streets, how she had felt like she was going to die as Serena carried her through the crowds of scared people.

Poor Serena, she thought. Bonnie still couldn't remember what had happened to her - laying in her arms was the last thing she could think of. She hoped Serena was ok. 

Those people. She thought back to the mutant that had attacked them. While she couldn't see it that well, she remembers seeing enough of it to know that it was in no way mentally sane. Then again, if all of the mutants had acted like that, then why was Bonnie sitting in here instead of devouring the sawsbuck in the lobby?

Bonnie was starting to feel lonely sitting in a public restroom by herself. Reaching into her pockets, she was thankful to find a pokeball. Pressing the front button like her brother had taught her, Bonnie released Dedenne into the bathroom. Of course, the first thing the small pokémon did was scream. 

“S-Shush it Dedenne!!” Bonnie quickly whispered to the rodent, clamping her hand over its mouth. “You'll wake up the others!!”

After a few seconds, Dedenne had stopped screeching, and was now shaking in the young girl’s lap. Stroking its back, Bonnie tried her best to calm it down. “Hey, I'm not like the others, Dedenne. I'm not gonna hurt you.” 

Slowly, a calming scent filled the room, seemingly seeping through the doors and the vents. It filled the air, soothing both of the Dedennes in the bathroom. Bonnie didn't realize till the pokémon was asleep that she was the one producing the smell, and quietly she put it back in its ball. As she manually turned off the lights, she caught a whiff of a new smell, coming from the lobby. It was one filled of lemons, lavender, and fear. It didn't take a genius to know that her brother had woken up. 

Bonnie began to think about what would happen should she go meet her brother. More importantly, she wondered if he was sane like her, or if he was like the mutants of the first attack, bloodthirsty and insane. Would he embrace her, glad to see her alive, or would he even blink as he raced to kill her where she stood?

To be honest, she didn't want to find out. She peered out of the door and quickly assumed that he was still in the lobby. Quietly, she sprinted towards the back to one of the overnight rooms. Shutting the door, she glanced around and and let out a soft groan. 

Of course. Out of all the rooms she could hide in, she chose the room her brother had stayed in before the world went to heck. 

She grabbed a few of his belongings and hid in the rooms private bathroom. A little bit of moonlight shone through the window in the room, allowing Bonnie to see better. She seemed to be safe here, so she looked over all of the things she had grabbed. Most of it seemed unimportant - just some checks from the last few wins the boys had had on the way there, as well as the rooms’ bills. However, in the middle of the mess, there were a few magazines. Looking at one, it seemed to be an article about luxrays in Kalos, as well as other pokémon in the Felidae family. Glancing down at the article, Bonnie began to read to ease her nerves. 

“The Luxray family tends to group together in a form of hierarchy, similarly to most other pokémon in the wild. The Alpha tends to be the strongest Luxray in the pack, or the one most fit to lead. In a pack of mixed pokémon, the Alpha is typically the strongest predatory pokémon, or the strongest carnivore. These Alphas tend to be easily spot during the packs resting period, since the Alpha and its family tends to sleep on a higher surface in the camp, both as a show of power and so that it can easily watch for any threats. Only the children of the Alp……”

A noise out in the hall dragged Bonnie from the article, putting her on high alert. She peered out of the bathroom, then made her way over towards the bedroom door, which was still open from when she had ran in there. 

Dang it. Now it was obvious where she was hiding. Tense from fear, she peered out into the dark hallway. 

And piercing through the dark hallway, staring right at her, were a pair of glowing yellow eyes, slightly covered by a pair of glasses. Apparently when the smoothie gave him night vision and razor sharp teeth, it couldn't fix his nearsightedness. 

Running away from the door, Bonnie looked around for any potential hiding spot, before realizing that there were none. This was it. In a few minutes, she may possibly be dead, killed by the hands of what was once was her brother. Seeing no other hiding place, she crawled underneath the sheets of the bed she was laying on. She was still laying down and closing her eyes when the door was thrown open, the lavender and terror filled aroma flooding the room. 

She was shaking when she heard him walk towards the bed, the terror beginning to change into something else. 

She didn't open her eyes until she felt Clemont hold her in his arms, the terror in his scent becoming something more...calming. 

She couldn't help it. After all of the events that had happened over the last 24 hours, she got teary eyed as he held her close, his own face in her hair, whispering to her in an attempt to calm down his dedenne. 

“Shhh, don't worry Bonnie…” he was telling her as she began to drift off, calmed by his scent. He was beginning to pull the covers over both of them when he told her “I'm here, I'm here, I'm here…”


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions are made, and a trip is started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short. Also I may be starting a Voltron fic, so updates may be longer (also, sorry)

Day 2 - Morning 

Bonnie woke up to find her brother gone and a glass of water on the counter by her bed, as well as a slightly stale muffin. As she ate, she suddenly smelled something along the lines of frying meat coming from the main lobby of the center, a scent that nearly made her mouth water. Well, guess that's where Clemont is… she thought to herself. If she had learned one thing in all 8 years of her life, it's that only her brother can make that good of food, whether it be sausage or bacon. 

Wandering over to the lobby, though, it appeared she wasn't the only one who thought so. A line of seven or so people had formed to pick up a previously made plate of cooked sawsbuck, looking to be cut from the large carcass still on the floor. Wiping down the grill, her brother turned to face her, immediately sensing her presence due to her scent.

“Hey Bonnie! You want some food?” he told her, grinning as he walked over towards her. 

Bonnie immediately ran up to Clemont and hugged him, receiving a tight hug as her response. “Y-your ali-ive…” she cried out, squeezing harder as a wave of soothing smells hit her face. Her grip on her brother loosened, her face burying itself in his neck where his scent glands were located. 

Clemont placed her on the floor and chuckled. “Don't worry Bonnie, it looks like we all are.” We meaning everyone else in the room, which was about four people of various mutations. Sitting in the waiting chairs was a staravia boy, roughly only a little older than Bonnie. Over the counter of the PokéStore was a pachirisu girl, who was organizing the supplies across the counter. Huddled together in the middle of the room was a pair of vulpix girls, one alolan and one kantonian. 

Clemont made his way over to the pachirisu, with Bonnie following behind him. “Hey Laurel, what have you found?” Twitching her ears slightly, the black haired teen glanced up at the luxio, placing an assortment of canned food across the counter. “This is it - all that's left is potions and pokéballs.” 

Ears drooping slightly, Clemont let out a small sigh. “That sawsbuck is going to go bad soon. After that, this will probably last us only a few days.”

A loud shout from the end of the hall caught the attention of everyone in the lobby. Poking her head out of a overnight room’s door, the red-haired vulpix called out at everyone else. “Hey guys, I think I found something!” 

Inside of the room was a pile of knives, all spread out on the bed. “Where did you find these, Kell?” asked the alolan vulpix. 

“They were in this,” she said, holding up a duffel bag, “there's about ten - one for each of us as well as four left over.” 

“Well, this settles it,” Clemont said, gathering everyone's attention, “I think we should go out and look for more supplies. The sawsbuck will eventually go bad, and we don't have that much food to fall back on when that happens. Now that we have weapons, it will be easier to defend ourselves in case something goes wrong.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kell said, “I vote for Lanna to stay behind with the kids.” 

Hearing this, Clemont tensed up, a slight scent of something sour filling the room. “Why do they have to stay behind?”

“They're kids, Clemont. There's no way we should let them come when there could be dangerous people all over the city. Just because we've regained consciousness doesn't mean everyone has.”

After thinking for a few seconds, Clemont agreed. “Fine. Daniel can choose whether he wants to come or stay. But Bonnie has one of my pokémon and a knife - she’ll be fine with us,” placing a hand on her shoulder, he continued, “she’s coming with m-us, and that's final.” 

Sighing, Lanna accepted his answer. “Fine, but someone needs to stay behind to guard what we already have. If we're going out, we'll likely be out for a day or more - plenty of time for someone to ransack us.” 

“Agreed,” Clemont looked towards the red fox, “I vote for Kell to stay behind. From what your girlfriend tells me, you have experience with weapons - something we need to protect our supplies.”

Blushing slightly, Kell looked towards Lanna. “Well, I've trained with knives as well as pokémon, but I don't know if I'd call myself an expert…”

Lanna chuckled slightly. “Well, it's the best we have, so I think we're in good hands.” 

“Then its official,” Clemont stated, “we’ll leave in an hour, and return sometime tomorrow - let's start packing.”

Night 2 

Foraging turned out to be an uneventful experience for Bonnie - no one else showed up outside of the group of four, including Daniel who decided to join the gang. After finding a good amount of canned food, some clothes, and other valuables, the scavengers settled in for the night in a bakery.

Bonnie had just made herself a bed when Clemont walked over to check up on her. “Hey Bonnie, how you holding up?” 

“Pretty good - well, as good as you can be in the apocalypse.” However, there was one thing that had been bothering her a bit throughout the day. “Hey Clem, how come we're back to normal when everyone else who was mutated got so… violent…”

Clemont’s brow furrowed in concentration, thinking about that question. “I've thought about that, and to be honest I don't know. It might help to find someone who's still feral, and see how they behave. Maybe then, we can find our answers.” 

“Hey! I think I found something!” Daniel called from the back room, coming towards the main group with a few boxes in hand. Once they were set on the table, they were opened to reveal macaroons, evenly laid out in a design meant to look like a flower. 

“Jackpot!” Exclaimed Lanna, “now we have dinner! Let's dig in!”

As Clemont passed out the food in an orderly fashion, making sure everyone got an equal amount, Bonnie eagerly waited. Just like the others, she felt like she was starving. 

After their meal of cookies and spare water bottles found in the back freezer, the group of mutants settled in for the night. Bonnie snuggled into a pile of blankets she had made next to the main counter, where Clemont had set up his own makeshift bed. Soon, everyone had drifted of to sleep, awaiting the morning when everyone would make their way back to the Pokécenter, and begin to form a better plan for their makeshift pack of Pokémon.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clemont needs to chill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the feels in this chapter

Day 3 - Noon

 

Sadly, once they returned to the pokécenter, things did not go so well. The sawsbuck was stolen, and Kell had been badly injured - she had been found poisoned, attempting to heal herself with some of the potions and a pecha berry found in the stash. 

Bonnie was terrified. Lanna was in tears. Clemont…. Clemont was furious. 

“What do you mean they got away?!” He yelled, voice echoing through the lobby where everyone had gathered. If his voice didn't give away his emotions, Bonnie thought, his scent sure did - what was once a sweet lemon and lavender was replaced by a harsh peppery smell, stinging her nose as he questioned the resting black haired fox. 

“I mean that I was pretty much done for the second that venusaur attacked,” Kell replied in an aggressive tone, “I could only run away, or die trying to fight back.”

“Kell, no offense, but on a near daily basis I suffered electrical burns far more powerful than what you've got, yet I haven't passed out once. How is that?”

“‘That’ is probably because you're a gym leader, and I'm not even a full time trainer - I work with knives, remember?”

“And you were so great at that!” Walking up to her, Clemont grabbed her by the arm holding her still as she tried to move away from his grasp. “Because of you, we only have enough food for the next four days - how are we supposed to fix that?!”

Stepping back, Kell tried to shake his grip off, which only made him tighten his fist. Stammering out of fear, she tried to reason with the blonde, who had both his tail and hair standing on end in a shape almost like a large mane. 

“C-Clemont… l-let me go… now…”

Of course, he didn't comply. At least, not immediately. A scooting noise brought all of the older teens attentions towards a table in the lobby, where Bonnie had begun to arrange a barricade of chairs between the children and the conflict. Looking into the eyes of Kell had done nothing to stop the rage building up in his veins. But one look at the terrified face of his little Bonnie….

Almost immediately, Clemont released, or rather shoved Kell into a couch, right into the arms of her girlfriend. His scent soon lost its fiery sting, and was replaced with a cool, metallic breeze, filled with something sour. A scent immediately recognized from her first encounter with her brother. 

Fear. 

Clemont seemed to slowly step away from the rest of the people in the room, making his way towards the front door. The effects of his anger was still present - his appearance looked slightly feral, hair on its end, teeth barred to reveal a long pair of fangs, and a slight change in his irises that were now cat-shaped. Running down Kell’s arm was blood left over from when Clemont had grabbed it. 

And running out the front door was Clemont, eyes beginning to water up. 

 

****

It took Bonnie almost an hour to find Clemont, due to the elder’s artificially increased fitness (apparently, most electric - types are REALLY fast runners - looks like Clem isn't the slowest one in the group anymore…) However, it was obvious where he was when she reached the alleyway.

Dotting the wall between the buildings were a series of craters, all around the same size. Looking closely at the brick, Bonnie could see a fist-shaped imprint in the center of each one. Turns out luxio’s are also super strong - no wonder Kell was bleeding. 

Walking towards the end of the the ally, though, Bonnie was surprised to hear something other than bricks being violently smashed. Instead, she peered over a corner and saw her brother curled up on the floor, hugging his legs. When she saw that they had streaks of blood running down them, she decided to speak up. 

“Don't do that Clem - you're gonna hurt yourself.”

Clemont looked up, eyes red and puffy, “I probably deserve it,” he replies, sitting up, “what are you doing here, Bonnie?”

“Making sure your ok, Clemont - you ran out looking like you were about to cry”

Clemont scoffed, “you mean before or after I nearly broke a person’s arm over a dead pokémon?!” Laying his head back on his knees, he murmured “I-I don't even know what came over me…. I just heard everything from Kell a-and I was….”

“Enraged? Furious?”

Clemont shook his head. “No… I was terrified… those scavenging supplies were only supposed to be a short-term solution - all of that food won’t last us a week. Without the sawsbuck… we're going to need to find a new food source, and that might take us longer than our food can last…” he sat up before looking at his little sister, still reeking in worry, “I can't let us starve, Bonnie. The reason’s complicated, but we can't get that hungry.”

But Bonnie was able to understand the rest on her own - she was his sister, and as of now the only family he had. He couldn't let her starve because he loved her too much. Clemont had said that the food would only last them a week, but ‘them’ had meant all 5 of their pack mates. 

How much would the food last for only 4 people? 3? Just the 2 of them? The solution to their was simple, and that's what terrified her. 

But what also terrified Bonnie, was that she still wanted him back at the camp. He was her brother, after all. 

“If we hurry, we can make it back to the pokécenter before sundown” Bonnie stated, reaching her hand out to her brother. 

Taking it, Clemont agreed, “alright, but I think someone else should be in charge for now.” He stood up and continued, “We can probably bring back some food for the others - sort of an apology gift.” 

Bonnie smiled, and patted a nearby wall. “I think this building is was a Milburger - how about some burgers for dinner?”

However, as she hit the wall, a rumble could be heard from the other side. Feeling the ground tremor, Clemont only had a second to shove Bonnie out of the way of the collapsing wall, towards the back of the alleyway. As the walls fell in, Bonnie could swear she her her brother screaming on the other side. No, not screaming. Roaring - inhuman roaring. 

Day 4 

It's been weeks. Well, to be honest, Bonnie didn't know how long it had been - light didn't shine in that well in the dark alley due to the cave-in, so it could have been shorter. But it has definitely been a while, because Bonnie felt horrible. 

She was starving. For the past few hours, she had been lying on the ground curled up in a ball, trying to ignore the pain in her side. It helped a bit whenever she blacked out - it wasn't frequent, but twice she found herself lying on the ground, not knowing how she got there. She was starving. 

While the pain in her stomach grew, so did her senses. For example, she could smell a rattata on the other side of the wall, a very… good…. she needed to stop. Control herself. Suddenly, she smelled something new - a lot of things new. However, some of them smelled human. Human! One of them even smelled kind of… familiar…

Bonnie tried to make her way to the wall closest to the humans, before falling on the floor. Oh yeah. She was starving. Starving. Slowly, light began to dance in and out of Bonnie’s vision, a sign of an oncoming black out. Mustering up her strength, she chuckled to herself. She probably wouldn't wake up this time, so there's no point in trying to save it. 

Well, if she's about to die, she should probably die feeling slightly good. At least she will be asleep when it happens. At least it'll be peaceful.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Humanity finds hope in a very non-human way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait - got kinda busy when I was writing the first chapter of that one Voltron fic I talked about a few chapters back. I'm hoping that the next chapter will be up sooner, but given that I'm working on two fics now, that may not be the case (Sorry!) Anyway, onto the show!!!

Day 1 - Night

In his arms, Pikachu shifted slightly, visibly nervous around the massive crowd of people in the room. Then again, his pokémon wasn't the only one anxious - a giant bunker in the ground full of terrified people and pokémon didn't sound like the best idea to Ash. It also didn't help that people had been gathering in the large arena-sized room for about 2 hours, and there were still no signs the massive steel doors closing, doors that guarded the entrance between the cold, secure walls of Bunker 2 and the rest of Kalos. 

Between the ruins of humanity, and what remained. 

After the fight with the weavile woman, Ash and his team barely had enough time to make it into the outskirts of the city, away from most of the infected and into the grassy meadows of Route 5. Most of the afternoon was spent maneuvering through the path, praying that he didn't see another monster like the kind he had seen previously. However, towards the end of the day, his luck had finally turned for the better. 

Right by the woods surrounding Parfum Palace, a bright, electric sign was hanging from a tree, powered by a solar panel attached to the top of the branches. It only had a flashing arrow displayed on it, pointing to a path deeper in the woods. A mutant wouldn't have noticed it - maybe staring at its bright yellow light for a second before going off in search for more food. A human, however….

It was the best option he had - Ash ran into the woods, Pikachu running beside him. With the help of a few more signs, they both stumbled upon a miracle deep into the forest. 

Lit from the inside, a large, metal stairwell burrowed into the ground, partially hidden by a large amount of overgrowth covering the top. If the steel hatch at the base had been closed, one might have not seen it. At the bottom, of course, was the scene Ash was encountering now. 

A light tap on the shoulder jolted him from his thoughts. Looking over, he was surprised to see someone he knew. 

Korrina definitely looked different than when they had first met up. Her outfit looked more or less the same, add the cuts and stains gathered from running for your life and minus the skates for more or less the same reason. But the bright, toothy grin behind her exhausted eyes still remained, showing her delight to see the teen again. 

Returning the smile, he reached out to hug the gym leader, his pokémon jumping onto the floor as he did so. “Heh, at least we're not alone anymore, right?” He joked. 

“Its great to see you, Ash! Like really, it is - after what happened today, I-I swore that it was over, everything from before… I thought that the world was ending…” she stopped to hold in a slight sniffle, before continuing, “anyway, how’ve you been holding up? Where's the others from your group, Serena Clemont and Bonnie?”

Unwillingly, Ash’s thoughts drifted back on his friends - Serena probably had a higher chance of making it out alive than the others, if not the only chance due to her clean drink. Bonnie could have been saved, but the last time he had seen her she looked nearly comatose. Speaking of comas, there was no way Clemont was ok - he was probably one of the first to loose their mind. Both him and his sister were likely out of their mind, which was something that crushed him - they were good people who didn't deserve to become cannibals. 

“Eh… I'm still waiting for any sign of Serena, but the others…. t-they..-” thankfully, he was cut off from a loud rumbling coming from the entrance. No, wait - the noise was the entrance, and it was closing!

Everyone watched as the door to the staircase began to slide shut, creating a large rattling noise throughout the chamber. People held their hands over the ears of small children and skittish pokémon - even Pikachu began to burrow his head into Ash’s tattered jacket. Once the door had shut completely, the lights dimmed and a wall opposite of the door lit up, revealing itself to be a massive screen. 

The screen turned on to reveal something that caused the entire crowd to gasp in shock, even after the events of the day. A woman sat, in an office chair in some unrecognizable building, wearing a military uniform. Seemed alright, until you took into account that her skin color was a deep blue, her eyes were black, her ears had a slight wing shape to them resembling a Butterfree, and her nose - well, it just wasn't there! Bringing the microphone on her desk closer, the alien cleared her throat and began to speak. 

“Greetings, citizens of Kalos. My name is Captain Baylion, and for the next 12 months, I shall be your leader. Before I continue, let me first tell you about how this began:” 

A section of the wall towards her right began to display an animation to follow along with her story. “My race of people hail from a solar system about a light year away, originating from a peaceful planet called Acadop. Due to recent developments in our nation's technology, we have been scouring the galaxy for hospitable planets to form alliances with, as well as uninhabited ones to settle in. 

However, by the time we were able to make contact with your planet, it was already too late - the leader of your local mafia, Lysander, had already begun to unleash the mutagenic toxin into the public food supply, which created…. horrifying results, fusing their own DNA with a Pokémon of some sort that potentially was already present. Rest assured, we have already sought out and delivered him justice for this crime. These mutated creatures have been distorted beyond any chance of possessing cognitive thought or human emotion, which I hope leads us to accept that those people are beyond redemption - they might as well be another diglett on the side of the road, or a wild zangoose that roams the neighborhood waste bins. 

Because of this, absolutely no one in these bunkers are to leave for any circumstance - not even criminal punishment, so don't get any ideas. Besides, you're only staying for roughly a cycle, or as humans call it one year. Our settlement vessel has reached an agreement with a few neighboring countries, allowing you to seek refuge until Kalos is hospitable again. Any remaining questions about your stay underground will be directed to your local Akalan bunker leader, or your bunker head for short. I wish you all luck for the next trying year.”

Once the monitor was off, everyone erupted in a wave of chatter, asking each other questions about the video that they had just witnessed. However, Ash quickly spotted a large podium in front of the previous screen, with another young alien woman behind it. Her skin seemed to be a light purple, and her hair a sky blue color, pinned up in a ponytail. Unlike her Captain, this one seemed to be genuinely invested in the crowd of people. “May I have everyone’s attention please?” She waited a few seconds, watching as the noise died down until everyone was focused on her. “Thank you. My name is Azula, and I am the Head of Bunker 2. Now, I understand that many of you definitely have questions about everything we have discussed in the last 5 minutes, and although Baylion did say that I would take care of them, I think it would be better to answer them after some sleep.”

The doors to the right opened up to reveal a dozen tables, each with a scanner and a large computer on top of it. “The booths to your right will check you into the bunker’s main computer database, as well as assign you a room number. Breakfast will be served at 10:00 - there, I will begin answering your questions. Until then, I hope everyone has a good night.”

Ash was lucky to be located close to the booths - he was one of the first people to get in line. The process was simple - it asked for name, race, age, etc. Once it was done, a bracelet made with some kind of flexible metal was presented out of a hole in the computer, as well as a piece of paper with a schedule printed on it, as well as his room number - 11023. It was a relief to find the 11000’s hallway right on the other side of the check-in counter - after a short walk, Ash could finally get some sleep, and try to pretend that the entire day had been some sick nightmare.


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two paths intermingle

Day 4

Today seemed to be going smoothly as the two trainers made their way to the center of Lumiose City. Both Serena and Shauna had their pokémon out, a large venusaur trailing behind them carrying most of the larger camp supplies. Ahead, Sylveon was watching the road, scouting out for any freaks that might be present. Looking back at the group, the small fairy type let out a yip before turning a street corner, disappearing from sight. 

Serena paused when she heard her stomach rumble, causing the brunette in front of her to stop and give her a glance. “Guess I'm getting kinda hungry…” she murmured. 

“We can stop for lunch in a bit if you want Serena. We can probably reheat something out of the Meat Sack.” Shauna hollered, referring to the backpack full of sawsbuck meat Serena was carrying - couldn't let the meat go to waste. 

Ahead of the group, Sylveon started yipping back to her trainer. Fearing that a freak had been spotted, Serena jogged ahead towards the pokémon, grabbing a knife from the side of her bag as she did. Once she reached her, though, there was no other life form in sight. Serena was confused and began looking around, until her eyes spotted a half collapsed MiltankBurger on the side of the street. 

“Hey Shauna,” she shouted, “I think I found us a better lunch”

………………..

“Are we sure these things even work Serena?” Shauna asked, eyeing the grill cautiously. The grill still looked like it was in working condition, as well as the rest of the kitchen. In all honesty, the only thing that looked damaged was the far side of the restaurant, where the restrooms appeared to have caved in. The entire men's room had been destroyed, while the woman's was barely standing. 

Flicking on the stovetop, Serena turned the grill on, showing that it was indeed functional. “See? If the generators can still run, so can the grill. Now, if we could only find the fridge…” Serena walked down towards the back of the kitchen in hopes of finding some frozen patties. Once she found the giant metal door, she gave it a firm pull in her direction, opening up the freezer to reveal a large pile of rubble on the other side. 

Great - whatever collapsed the bathrooms destroyed the fridge. 

“Well, we could always grill some sawsbuck…” Shauna started, but was interrupted when a loud thump was heard from the other side of the wreckage, shaking some of the bricks. Both girls kept quiet, thinking that they could have each imagined it, until another one sent some bricks flying. Behind the wall, some form of shouting could be heard. 

There was something behind that wall. Something - or rather someone - who needed help. 

Almost instantly, Serena heard herself commanding Sylveon to use a moonblast against the wall, trying to free whoever was trapped behind it. There was a person stuck in the building - to not free them would be an instant death wish onto the poor person. 

However, as soon as a sizable portion of the wall had been cleared, both of the girls thought instant death was about to reach them. Shauna bolted out of the way the second she saw a glimpse of the beady black-eyed freak on the other side. Serena however, was hit by the dedenne head on. 

She couldn't move - Serena was in shock. The only thought that formed in her head as the freak made a grab for her chest was a simple one:

Well, guess we know where Bonnie’s been.

The little girl’s claws dug into Serena’s shoulder, hissing as she began to climb up her body. Serena began to thrash around, trying to throw Bonnie off. This wasn't the young child she knew - Bonnie’s eyes held no recognition of her former friend, just a cold hunger in her large black iris. Orange hands quickly grabbed onto the human’s throat…

… and reached for the backpack behind her, completely ignoring Serena. She was still in surprise when Shauna made quick work of cutting the straps off of the honey blonde, throwing the backpack - and Bonnie - to the floor. The dedenne paid no mind to either one of them, instead tearing open the backpack and grabbing a slice of sawsbuck meat. 

Of course. the meat sack. Why would she bother killing a human when there's a massive bag full of pre-slaughtered food right behind it? 

Both girls quickly backed out of the freaks way, steering to the side of the kitchen. Bonnie didn't mind - she was too busy chowing down on their main source of food. By the time she stopped to look around, almost half of their supplies had been skinned clean. Once she looked around the kitchen, though, she soon became aware of the intruders around her. 

She bared her teeth at Shauna and began hissing, preparing to attack her. Quickly, Serena threw herself in front of the brunette, bracing herself for another attack. Bonnie attempted to pounce at Shauna, but ran into Serena head first, knocking the both of them to the ground. 

The little girl prepared to attack the stranger in front of her, kneeling up to face Serena. However, just as quickly as she attacked her, Bonnie suddenly seemed to… stop. Instead, she held her face close to her neck, inhaling deeply over a very confused Serena. The dedenne didn't seem focused on attacking anymore, but instead on something else. 

Then, on top of everything that had occurred that day in the MiltankBurger, the most weirdest thing happened - Bonnie started curling up on Serena’s chest, nuzzling into her neck. The teen could only stare at Shauna, who was watching in awe. 

“Well,” Serena broke the silence, “today was interesting.”

…………….

“I still think this is a bad idea, Serena,” Shauna stated, as the three neared the looming Lumiose Tower. While Serena carried the remains of the meat sack under her arm, her other side was busy holding a now sleeping Bonnie, who was still curled up against the human. 

“What will we do if she wakes up?! She might kill us in our sleep, Serena! In our sleep! I'm your friend and all, but I'd rather not go to bed thinking ‘I hope I don't get murdered by that 8 year old tonight!!’”

Sighing, Serena readjusted her grip on the bag and looked over at her friend. “If I thought she was going to murder us Shauna, then I wouldn't have brought her here.” 

Both of them knew that wasn't true - no matter what, Bonnie would have come with them. “Bonnie still has some sort of grip on reality, and… I want to help her. I'm not leaving a child on the side of the road to be killed, Shauna, especially one that I've cared about for the past year.”

The brunette glanced over at her companion with a small smile. “I know Serena, I'm just still a little worried that this won't work out like you hope.”

Serena turned to assure her it will, when she stopped to realize that they had reached their destination. Instead, she pushed open the front doors, holding them open for her friend. “I hope the elevators still work,” she mumbled. 

……………..

The elevators worked fine, as well as all of the electricity in the tower. The building, like most public services, must have had backup generators. Clemont, you technical god. 

The girls approached the top floor quickly, thank goodness, and the key card worked fine. Once they were in the apartment, Shauna began to asses the Limone’s kitchen, estimating how many days they could last (taking in Bonnie’s appetite into consideration) Serena, haven given the brunette her backpack, was now tucking Bonnie in her bed. Looking around, she could see framed photos of her old friends in various locations around Kalos. Looking at their smiling faces made Serena feel longing for her male companions. 

Well, we have two of us here now, Serena thought to herself. “Hey Serena!” Shauna shouted from the kitchen, “I found some canned peas!”

Guess we just have two more to go. Don't worry guys, she grinned as she walked out of Bonnie's room. 

I'll find you, I promise.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie eats some chicken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: After this chapter, I might go on a more announced hiatus until further notice, unless enough readers REALLY want me to continue this. Right now, I really want to work on works for other fandoms (cough, Voltron, cough) but I feel guilty not doing anything for this fic when it seems like there may be another chapter.

It was the feeling of bright light hitting her face, a feeling of sunshine that had been missing ever since the alleyway cave in, that woke Bonnie up. Immediately, her eyes were blinded by the sheer amount of new light filtering in around her, causing Bonnie to flinch. She squeezed her eyes shut, and hastily decided that simply looking around her new environment wasn't going to go well. Instead, she began to lift her head from the floor. Or bed. Yep - after a few pats on the soft mattress below her, Bonnie concluded that this was, in fact, a bed. 

Since there was obviously no kind of bed in the rubble cave, it was safe to say that something - or someone - moved her during her last blackout. Knowing this, the young mutant decided that it was probably a good idea to stop being a wimp, and look around her surroundings. Slowly, Bonnie blinked a few times, before allowing the light to sting her eyes. 

After a few seconds, Bonnie realized that her earlier statement was definitely wrong. She hadn't been moved - she had died in the holed up ally, and was currently in some freakish part of heaven. Yep, that had to be it. There was absolutely NO other explanation for her to currently be sitting in her bedroom. 

But after trying to stand up out of bed, and then falling flat on her face, this room seemed all too hauntingly real. Her legs, as well as the rest of her body, were shaking. The blonde suddenly remembered one her brother’s random smarty-pants kind of terms. Malnutrition. Which, she remembered, was just a really fancy word for being really hungry. 

On cue, her stomach began to growl, a hollow feeling following it. Looks like malnutrition seemed to fit Bonnie perfectly. And with likely no more small pokémon in the skyscraper, there was no way she was going to find a meal. After a few seconds, though, Bonnie realized how stupid that comment was. This was HER HOUSE! All she needed to do was get to the kitchen!

Grabbing her nightstand for support, she hoisted herself up from the floor, pausing only to gain her footing. Once she made it to the door, however, she remembered that the only way she would have ever made it to the luxury apartment was if someone had taken her there. Presumably, the same someone who, from what Bonnie could smell, was cooking something that smelled like fresh pidgey. 

Her slow hobble towards the kitchen turned into a quicker, more cautious limp, a part of her responding to the scent of fresh food. Slowly inching through the halls, she made a deliberate attempt to sneak by quietly. Who knows what might be here, after all?

This, however, was an attempt in vain - while the pan was still on the stovetop, pidgey sizzling inside it, there was no one around to watch it.

Bonnie’s interest soon turned into panic. Walking closer into the room, she noticed the door on her right swinging out, as if someone had just opened it. She continued to keep walking closer to the door, determined to find out who had brought her here. It didn't occur to her until she was already in the living room that when she did find said person, she may need to be ready to defend herself. If someone is willing to take an unconscious child off of the streets and into an apartment in the Tower, not to mention HER OWN apartment, then she might be dealing with some lunatic. Or an addict. Her brother always did warn her about shady strangers on the side of the street, ones that might do something unexpected. 

From behind the door she just left through, a small, miniscule creek echoed throughout the hardwood floor. For once in her life, Bonnie thanked the weird ears the apocalypse had given her. In an instant, she had reached around and kicked the door open, prepared to confront whoever had brought her here. What she HADN’T prepared for, however, was the door breaking off its hinges in response to the kick, slamming onto the floor with a crash.

At the same moment, a loud shout echoed through the room. “OH SHIT” was all Bonnie heard before another object landed on the floor - one that can only be assumed to be her kidnapper. However, they didn’t look like a kidnapper. They honestly just looked like a messy Shauna sprawled out on the floor, wielding nothing but a spare frying pan and look of pure fear. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pidgey had actually tasted pretty good, considering that it had been cooked in a post-apocalyptic setting. Though her meal might have been more enjoyable if Shauna hadn't been staring at her the entire meal, analyzing her every move like her brother around that one rocket place from their vacation to Hoenn the previous summer - except on steroids. 

To be fair, no one had really talked much, except for those first few moments after they first saw each other. After a few tense seconds of Shauna bracing for an attack - and failing to receive one - the two had just stood in silence for a minute, the human studying the young hybrid with some sort of horrified curiosity. The only thing that managed to break the spell, however, was the ever growing smell of burnt meat that radiated from the skillet on the burner. 

Deciding that she wasn't in mortal peril, Shauna had slowly made her way over to the counter and silently began to finish making breakfast. By the time she was done, three plates sat at the end of the counter, one for herself, some other person, and Bonnie. The fact that she even made her a meal would have seemed nice, had Shauna not been staring at the blonde girl the entire time she was cooking, as if she was a bomb that could still go off at any moment. 

At least she had calmed down a bit, looking at her like an odd looking combee rather than a giant beedrill. 

Though to be honest, it was starting to get annoying. Bonnie was pretty sure the brunette hadn't even stopped to blink, which is pretty terrifying. 

“Do you need something?”

The young girl’s simple question caused Shauna to flinch, still seemingly astounded by her ability to form a basic sentence, which still confused Bonnie. The last time they had even seen each other, it was clear that she wasn't an idiot. So what if she had giant ears and a tail now? Last she had checked, Bonnie doesn’t sound like a screeching aerodactyl.

Something needed to be done. Looking at Shauna again, Bonnie yet again tried to address the silence. “You know, if you don’t want to be near me, then you didn’t have to be in here.”

This immediately caught the human’s attention, prompting her to respond in yet again a panicked tone. “N-No, you’re fine, Bonnie. I’m just a little...surprised, that's all.”

“Surprised about what?”

A look of further confusion reflected on Shauna’s face, as she considered what she was going to say next. After a few moments, she spoke again

“Bonnie...what do you remember before we got here….?”

The smaller girl began to look back on what she was doing before she got in this position. It didn't take her long before she suddenly remembered the cave in behind the MilBurger. She remembered how it had hurt - every movement being stumbles in the dark as she slowly grew weaker and weaker, before passing out for quite a while. After she went unconscious, her memory grew hazy, only brief blurs of color and darkness before she woke up just an hour before. 

“Bonnie? You ok there?”

This time it was Bonnie who jumped, not realizing that she had been sitting silently for a few minutes. Looking up, she thought over what she had remembered, and began to form an answer. “Yeah, I...I’m ok,” she replied, rearranging herself before speaking again, “The last thing i remember....I was sitting in an alleyway, and the walls caved in. Everything went kinda dark for a while, before I woke up here.”

Shauna went back to staring at the girl for a while, this time in some sort of a small “ah hah!” moment rather than one of study. After a moment of self reflection, she tried to change the topic. “How about we go down to the library for a little bit?”

As Shauna stood up and began to gather their plates, Bonnie questioned the idea. “Why the library? Aren’t there more important things for us to get?”

“That’s true,” Shauna replied, placing the dishes in the sink while reaching for a bag, as well as a few pokéballs, “But I think there’s someone there you would like to see.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So far, any and all research on the hybrids had been a bust. As she finished yet another book on the biology of pokémon, Serena sighed and laid down on the book covered floor of the library, some damage done from the initial meltdown, but others from the previous two hours spent by the human in the natural sciences section. As expected from being partially funded by the owners of the Lumiose Tower (aka, Clem) the science section was vast, taking up most of the non-fiction section of the entire building. 

Yet, despite the abundance of resources, Serena still had not found any written information about human and pokémon DNA being so closely linked. All that she seemed to come across is various memoirs of interspecies relationships between a group of humans and various pokemon and, very likely possibly gathered by the same group of people, information regarding pokemon breeding patterns. And after a long study on just how and when a snorlax is ready to mate, nothing akin to cannibalistic monsters was mentioned once.

Hearing footsteps march up the stairs, Serena got up from her moping, and made her way to the stairwell to meet Braxien (the poor thing had been bored, so she had the fox go look around the coffee bar to find something for lunch.) When she caught up to them, though, it seemed like the meal had come to them. 

Shauna was walking upstairs instead of Braxien, carrying some tupperware with her. “Hey! Thought you’d be hungry.”

Well, at least one thing was going well today. Smiling, Serena went up to meet her, smelling the cooked meat inside Shauna’s hands.

“You couldn't have come at a better time, Shauna - I actually sent Braxien down just a bit ago. To be honest, I wonder where she is?”

This time, it was Shauna’s time to grin. Grabbing the blonde’s hand, the two began to descend the stairwell into the lobby of the library, while Shauna continued the conversation. “I actually had something else to show you. Something....came up back at the apartment, and I think you’ll be interested in it.”

But it looked as if her comment was lost to Serena, as she stopped in their walk and was staring straight at the coffee bar. As expected, Braxien was sitting inside, but there was someone else she was sitting with. Leaning over towards the fox, a young girl sat braiding her fur. It didn’t even take a second for Serena to realize who that was.

In hardly a few steps, Serena was in the small, broken down café, holding a surprised Bonnie in her arms. In silence, the two sat quietly on the floor, not uttering a word. After roughly a minute, Serena began to pull away, fearful that she startled the poor girl. However, as she tried to back away, a small hand went to stop her.

Briefly looking up, Bonnie met her eyes, her own slightly red.

“...can we just stay like this for a while…?”

And so they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cough* https://thejollypiplup.tumblr.com/ *cough*


End file.
